Smart Gilas five braces for tough Dubai outing

The SMART Gilas national team is in for a rough outing in the Dubai Invitational basketball tournament.

Bereft of star players from the PBA, the PH five, scheduled to leave Tuesday, will be severely handicapped playing against teams allowed to field three imports in the tournament kicking off the country’s buildup for the 2013 Fiba Asia Men’s Championship in Beirut.

Three clubs from Lebanon and two from host United Arab Emirates have three reinforcements each with strong credentials in the nine-team tournament.

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Considered as strong candidates for the crown are Lebanese teams Sagesse Beirut, Mouttahed Tripoli, and Al Riyadi Beirut, which boasts 7-foot-2 Loren Woods, a former NBA campaigner, and American-Lebanese 7-footer Joe Vogel.

Al Riyadi will also field American Rashan Anderson, a 6-5 University of Connecticut slasher who played for the Iowa Energy in the NBA Developmental League, and Egyptian Ismail Ahmad.

“This could be the toughest tournament for us,” said Smart Gilas head coach Chot Reyes. “But as I’ve said, this is just a learning and preparatory tournament. This is a preparation for the bigger battle ahead.”

Naturalized center Marcus Douthit will join forces with the PBA’s JR Reyes, Ronjay Buenafe and KG Canaleta in the absence of the pro players who helped Smart Gilas win the Jones Cup in Taipei last year.